Gleam
by Arigatomina
Summary: Naruto fusion, JinxTouya, ShinoxShikamaru, NaruSasu, others. When Jin rescues a lone Ice Master from uncertain death, he's eager to bring him into the light. But Touya's past catches up to him far too soon. Gmen Prequel.
1. Snow White, Be Still My Heart

**Author's Notes:** Prequel to 'Gmen' but a distant one. You don't need to know anything about the other fic to read this one, except that the setting is a very vague fusion of the original X-men cartoon. Jin and Touya are mutants in this fic, not demons. This fic is mostly YYH, so those unfamiliar with Naruto won't be lost. If any Naruto fans happen upon this fic, please note the pairings and that this is an alternate universe fic – I'm not going to be very 'canon' here and I've never written Naruto (except for a bit of KakashixIruka fluff in 'Creating a Legend.')

I don't want this story to span off into 'never-endingness', so expect the parts to be quick. I doubt I'll take more than a month or two to finish this – there's not that much to tell. This fic will be followed by a series of short fluffy (or lemony) side-fics to fill in the gaps along with Gmen. It may also have a prequel focusing more on the Naruto characters, but that hasn't been decided yet.

_Inspiration:_ After re-reading all of Obsidian Sphinx's JinxTouya fics, I decided it was high time I did one of my own. There really is a shortage of fics for this lovely and rare pairing.

**Summary:** When Jin rescues a lone Ice Master from uncertain death, he's eager to teach him about the simple pleasures in life. Touya warms to the treatment, but knows his past will catch up to him if he dares to settle down for too long.

_Fanart:_ I've been doing quite a bit of JinxTouya fanart, it's available on my fanart page:  
**www . geocities . com / arigatomina / fanworks . html  
**

_Category:_ Anime, Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, Alternate Universe (AU), Yaoi, light school-fic genre  
_Warnings:_ angst, reference to violence, shonen ai, will have lemon content (off-site for ffnet readers)  
_Pairings:_ JinxTouya main; assumed ShinoxShikamaru, SuzukixShishi, KakashixIruka; references to ReishoxTouya; and light Neiji-Lee, Naruto-Sasuke, Sakura-Ino (canon rivalry, dash of shoujo ai)  
_Author:_ Arigatomina  
_Email:_ arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com  
_Website:_ www . geocities . com / arigatomina

**Gleam**

_Part 1: Snow White; Be Still My Heart_

The weather was warm, windy and warm enough to sweep a delicious springtime breeze over the hills. The scent of heather and flowers and nature at its finest rode on that irresistible wind, a waft of life forcing itself into his lungs deeply enough to choke him. The heat hit him the hardest, a midafternoon sun beaming happily on the landscape and crushing him down like so much leaden weight. Gama would have understood.

His arms and legs were so heavy he could barely lift them and even knowing most of that was the weight of his own disgust didn't change the pressure pushing down on him. The sun, that effervescent weather, the green billowy grass mixed with giddy golden flowers, all of it snickered behind airy clouds, eating away at his stubborn pride. Here was a sanctuary for outcasts, a beautiful world waiting to wrap welcoming arms around any who entered it. And all he wanted was to turn back, trek back, find the plane he'd stolen away on and ride it to any place that didn't mock him with so much light.

He did turn then, limbs too heavy to lift for another step, his neck aching from even that vague movement. It seemed whiplash wouldn't heal on its own, not for him. He'd removed the brace weeks ago, or a week ago, maybe days…he couldn't remember. It was an eyesore that would have brought unwanted attention to him. So now he took it as one more barrier and turned his shoulders more than his head, seeking a look toward the horizon.

Had he walked for days? Or hours…?

Darkness had met his eyes the last time he woke, but everything before that had blurred into a single-minded task of not falling down until he found something soft to land on. He remembered the plane, waking and scrambling to get off before he was discovered in his dark niche, the stares when he'd tried to exit the airport across the personnel-only yard, the man who'd done his best to take him into custody to a hospital at the very least because surely they could see the boy was hurt too much to be arrested.

He'd done something to that man.

Hurt him, possibly killed him, because he'd woken in a ditch with his head pounding fit to explode, blood in his mouth, and no airport, hospital, or jail in sight. Part of him hoped he hadn't killed that man, someone who had wanted to help even if it hurt in the end. And part of him was bitter that he'd done something powerful without being conscious enough to understand how he'd done it, bitter that he'd woken in mud that had the nerve to be warm and comfortably inviting. Better not to have woken at all, than to be humiliated on top of everything.

The horizon was distant, peaking over hills and mountains that he knew he couldn't have passed. The airport must have been somewhere between here and there, hidden in a valley, perhaps. He'd certainly climbed enough of the rolling hills to know they blocked out any and all signs of civilization, for which he was dearly grateful.

No one could see him like this, not covered in mud, blood, and dark festering stubbornness that urged him to lift his limbs into motion again. He'd rather die than suffer the pity of strangers.

'_I keep saying that, but I'm still pushing forward. Why would I, if I didn't want to be taken in? Find someone else to shelter me, fool me, and tear into me the moment I sleep, lax stupid and weak. What am I doing if not repeating it? Why else would I keep moving when all I want is to get away, from here, from the past, from everything? I don't want to be seen like this, but what else could I expect? To find, be found, or to die in this paradise – I know my options. I do. I can feel it gnawing at me, nauseating, taunting…tempting...'_

"There's no point in this…"

His voice surprised him, a human yet inhuman sound swept off by the breeze that before had only carried the lovely celebration of birds.

It was soft, a whisper with just a hint of that strength that had sent him running from his parents at the age of ten, the will to live and fight that had kept him free during those lost years of hiding in shadows, the unending spirit that didn't care if he were cursed for being a mutant, the suffocating pride that had sent him staggering from the hospital before he was released into hell again. And it was broken, the hoarse humiliating sound that had kept him from speaking when they'd asked him what happened, the sketchy breath he'd used in place of pleas or cries, the monotone voice he'd perfected to hide any weakness that might be exploited against him.

"I know why I'm here."

There was a hint, just a breath as his voice was more distinct this time, a hint that someday it would deepen and settle into a powerfully controlled voice. Or it would have, given another year to steady itself. He was only-

'_Only…fourteen? Or is it sixteen now? I don't know what year it is… I don't know this world anymore. And I don't think it matters…'_

A shimmer of movement in the tall grass brought him spinning around. His neck tightened, a blade sinking down his spine. And he pitched over onto his side in a cumbersome lack of grace. Those weighted limbs, motionless for so long, had forgotten how to hold him up. He tasted blood again, that sharp bubbling pain that blossomed in his chest and surged up to gag him.

He held it back with cold carelessness, barely moving his tongue against the coppery flavor. His eyes had flown to the source of the movement and identified it as some small creature hopping through the high grass. He'd been frightened by a rabbit. It was one more blow to his already faltering pride, one that twitched in his stomach and gibbered a pitiless laughter in his ears.

His lips responded to that, curving into a tight, grimacing smirk. The small, haplessly happy creature had better move quickly or it could die along with everything else on his hill.

'_My hill. There are no people here, no bystanders. I can feel it there, my fingers are numb from it. It won't obey me, but it wants this place. It's festering cold and promising and I can feel it there, I can use it. I can take this hill as my grave and even the sun will hide its eyes from the sight. One last tribute to this curse of pride. Snow for me, soft and blanketing…and ice so cold a person would freeze to touch it. I can do that. I believe I can do that. And I could sleep where no one can touch me, ice on the slopes…they'd never get to me…even if they knew where to look…'_

Cold resolve hardened in his eyes, casting a pale icy blue shimmer that erased the pupils until they fairly shone from his white face. He could feel that numb creeping from his fingertips upward, easing the throbbing and sharpness as it moved along, until his heart sighed in his ears so much more appropriate than that hideously cheerful breeze. Frozen, but soft and melting, his limbs sank into the grass, relieved of that weight his stubbornness had put on them. And the sun, so bright above him, crept away, dimmed by dark clouds.

He watched them churn overhead, created by nothing more than his will to see them blot out that hateful sun. The snow fell in a beautiful dance, ignorant of the warmth that remained everywhere but on his hill. Flakes fell in his eyes, stinging, melting, and then remaining to blot out his sight in small dots as they ceased to melt.

It wasn't fitting. He didn't want to be buried. He wanted to see it through.

A small twinge somewhere inside his numbed body brought more blood to his mouth, but it was cold and flavorless. He ignored it, his eyes dazed by the flurry that fell around him, freezing the grass but cushioning his body in soft, heavy layers. It wouldn't bury him, just…surround, like a mass of feathers with more substance, a shelter from the world. And perhaps…a light layer…?

'_Not enough weight to hurt, just…something over me, something I can feel…'_

And he faded, his eyes falling closed only to struggle open again. He couldn't forget the ice, to separate his hill, make it unmanageable so no one would dare to approach. A protection against-

_Even if they knew where to look, a person would freeze to touch it…'_

That twinge sparked into a tearing sort of throb, abrupt pain waking enough to choke him before sinking out again. He could feel the blood spill over to freeze on the corner of his mouth, a trickle down to his neck. Then he shoved all sensations aside and closed his eyes tight, his concentration solely on the ice he couldn't lift his head to see.

It had to be thick and heavy. Thick enough that it wouldn't melt for days even with that obnoxious sun beating down on it, cold enough that it would protect him from animals and people alike. It had to circle the hill without touching his soft bed of snow. It had to be perfect. It had to be-

'_Fitting? I almost wish I could look to see if it is. To think I can do this… If I'd known, I'd have done it sooner and it wouldn't be simple rabbits dying in my grave… To think, someday I could freeze a person just by willing it to happen. Or…someday I might have, could have…if I'd been…'_

His chest hitched, a sluggish movement that matched his thoughts. His mind seemed as numb and slow as everything else.

'_I'm determined. Determined…it isn't like giving up, it isn't. I decided and…I'm seeing it through… And if my body freezes does my brain stop like a flame going out? Random…it's so random. Will I freeze or simply sleep here? How much does it take, when this cold is so soft to me? Someday…I could lie here and it would make me stronger… I really think it could…if I'd mastered this. I couldn't even master the only thing that's mine…'_

'_I don't want to think, stop…just stop and sleep. Isn't that the point? Sleep, be still…easy…and still…my heart is so quiet. I can't hear anything, but it doesn't…don't think… Sleep, just…there…nothing there at all…not cold…no pain…nothing… And it's so…so quiet…soft…gentle…and it's mine…'_

- - -

It was a beautiful day, exhilarating and clean, nothing like the crowded noisy buzz of Tokyo, or even Osaka. Even the nagging knot of worry in his gut couldn't stop him from simply breathing in that delicious air, surely laden in pure oxygen unlike that stuffy classroom which he just knew was filled with old teacher breath since they never so much as cracked a window. How did they expect anyone to pay attention when their brains were slowly suffocating and their noses went off into wildly agonizing death throws with every breath of the guy's rank smell?

Fresh air or no fresh air, it seemed his mind was set on the class he'd skipped out of. He let out a long mental sigh and gave into the thoughts that were more than happy to spring up and make themselves known, rather like him when he had a funny story to tell his friends. He could just see that, his thoughts puffing out their chests with wide grins and gleaming eyes that couldn't contain how great the tale was. Yes, his thoughts were just as overeager as he was on a good day. But today, they had bad news, depressing and old news that he'd heard time and time again. He would have thought they'd give up eventually.

'_You're going to be in so much trouble when you get back to the house,'_ that voice lectured, as if it had no idea it was just him talking to himself with an Iruka-voiced conscience.

Jin screwed up his face and flew faster into the wind, as if the sound of it rushing past his pointed ears would stop him from hearing that nagging wanna-be teacher voice. Like he didn't get that enough at school. He even had to put up with it from himself.

'_What's the fun of skipping class if I take the teacher with me? Sure, I know Iruka's going to throw a fit when I get back, that's why I'm flying so fast. See? At this rate I'll be halfway across the border before he even finds out I skipped again. It's the perfect plan! What's he going to do, send Kakashi after me? He'd get a few blocks out of town and stop to read his newest book – he's as bad as I am!'_

'_You're incorrigible,'_ that voice stated, disapproval dripping from the words.

He almost about-faced, outrage and a flash of surprise spurting over his features. _'Don't use big words like that, baka! The teachers would never let me skip class if they knew I wasn't as dumb as I act. Have to keep up appearances, you know. Jin? Oh, yeah, I know him. Big dumb guy, likes to sneak out and fly off because he's a bad mutant and that's what they do – break the rules every chance they get. Why…if they knew I had half a brain, I'd be stuck with Shino tutoring the rejects. It's unthinkable!'_

'_You're unthinkable,'_ that voice sniffed.

Jin raised an eyebrow. _'Wouldn't that be incapable of thinking? In… Hey! Don't trick me into thinking! That's it. I'm tuning you out.'_

That voice made as if to protest, or harp some more – and he didn't know why he thought of the world harp since that voice was no where near pleasant to listen to – but he started humming loudly enough so that between it and the wind in his ears, that voice was nothing but a vague mumble in the background. Three minutes of that, during which time he found himself a real tune to hum instead of that single note, and his conscience gave up altogether.

Jin smirked and turned his attention back to his jaunt.

His conscience really was a pain sometimes, and he knew it was crazy to let it assume its own voice like that. He'd never admit that he enjoyed talking to himself, even if it was just listening to his conscience berate him like some elderly equivalent of his favorite teacher. Yes, he did like the worrisome Iruka, even if the man was the worst when it came to lecturing him about skipping classes. He was just cute when got all frustrated and flustered and at his wits end. And Iruka-sensei had really short wits, so he spent most of his time at the end of them.

Ever since Jin had come to the halfway house – which was really just a house for mutants, though the town pretended not to notice – he'd found himself adopting Iruka like a kid brother, for all that the teacher was much older than him. There was just something about the easily teased man that made him want to wrap him in a bear hug, and maybe muss his hair till he turned bright red in the face. That was always fun because Iruka-sensei was naturally tanned and looked downright silly with a red face. If Iruka didn't keep his hair in such a tight tail at school, Jin might have skipped class less often and spent more time annoying his favorite sensei.

He did try to sit through classes as much as he could. There were just some days when a single glance out of that window – the window his smelly last-period teacher refused to open – sent his nerves to twittering with a need to taste, feel, and be part of that breeze. He was a Wind Master. How could those teachers expect him to sit quietly and patiently in a stuffy little room when he could practically feel the wind vibrating through the walls and calling to him? _Jin-kun, Jin-kun, come fly with me…I promise you'll like it…Come on, Jinny-koi, you know you want to…_

'_That wind is such a coy little thing when it taunts me out here. And the things it calls me…! Poor Sakura-chan would blush bright red if she could hear it talk. Not that I'd tell her about it, though. She never did get over that time I told her what it whispered to me about her and Ino behind the bushes. I swear, she'll never believe I didn't peak on them. I guess I could have just said I smelt them…which is definitely true with that perfume Ino wears, yech…but where's the fun in that? Much better to let her think the wind was spying on her.'_

'_All right, so I know the wind doesn't talk to me, but it feels like it sometimes. I can swear it's just taunting me, like Kakashi holding ramen over Naruto's head so he hops around drooling in a mindless little dance. That's what the wind does to me, it breezes around the school till I'm drooling in my desk. Only I can't do a mindless dance without the teacher sending me to the Principal's office. Like I'd actually go there, anyway. Psh. He should know me better than that. I guess that smelly teacher isn't nearly as smart as Iruka-sensei. Then again, he's probably not as gullible either, so maybe it all evens out in the end…'_

As much as Jin liked to make light and play jokes about it, he didn't like his last-period teacher. Professor Terringer – since he couldn't call him san or sensei – didn't like him and he was quite comfortable making that clear to the entire class. It was the sort of thing Jin chose not to think about, just like he turned his eyes out the window when the teacher made droll comments about him and mutants in general – as if he couldn't hear him or was too dumb to understand if he did hear. There weren't that many of that type of people at the school, or in the town in general, but it only took a handful to make things unpleasant.

Jin was well acquainted with unpleasant people, though he hoped no one would know it to talk to him. He did his best not to let things like that get to him, and a freeing sail through the sky usually cleaned his bad feelings out like so many nasty and sticky, but easily wiped away, cobwebs. It wasn't that he was always cheerful, just that he was rarely uncheerful – it wasn't exactly easy being happy all the time. His fellow students didn't seem to realize that.

Sure, he was the smiling one, the one who'd make a joke back or just ignore insults that got tossed at him. No one worried about hurting his feelings or getting him angry because Jin was the every-happy bubble of silliness who was incapable of feeling anything but happy thoughts. Right.

'_I am human, after all. Or…yeah, okay. I'm not human, but mutants are people too! What, they think I liked being shipped over here just because I happen to sprout pointy ears and a horn when I'm emotional? That I don't want to pull a 'Shishi' on their sorry butts when they start cracking jokes because my ears twitch when I'm excited? I can do the 'psycho-horned mutant attacking the bullies' thing if I want to, I just figure Shishi's really good at that, and I wouldn't want to hone in on his fun. It's not like I don't imagine sweeping those idjits up in a big twister and dropping them off halfway to America – in the ocean, of course. Then we'd see how funny my ears are to the lot of them. I work hard to stay this happy…!'_

"Ooh! What a pretty bird…!"

Jin eased back so he was pretty much standing in midair, his bright blue eyes on the large bird that sailed past him. It was a hawk, he thought, or maybe just a pretty buzzard – he'd never cared to classify birds, they were prettier without names. He glanced back in the direction the bird had come from and blinked, his big blue eyes getting much bigger.

"Lots of pretty birds…" he whispered, gulping a bit at the flock that seemed hellbent on flying through him.

He did a little spin in midair and soared higher so the flock would fly beneath him. They were panicked and crazed, something in the wind pushing them faster than their wings could carry them.

'_Hence they're soaring in the direction the wind's blowing,'_ Jin thought. _'But why so fast? And since when do those big clawed ones fly next to those little brown ones? Those two never mix unless it's dinnertime…'_

He craned his head back, checking out the cloud cover above him. If he could have flown higher, he might have spotted what they were running from. But the clouds were a little too thick. He knew he'd never be able to see through them, and he'd be soaked if he tried – those soft clouds were fluffy and funny to go through, but quite wet at the same time.

The birds had passed, so he ducked down and flashed off in the direction they'd come from, that strong wind playing over his face. Again, he could almost imagine what it was saying, and the very idea brought a big grin to his lips, one small happy fang glinting in the bright sunlight. _You wanna see it, don't you, Jinny-boy. Something wild and fun and interesting…just the sort of thing to send your ears twitching until you can't hold still and go spinning all over the place. Better hurry, though, hurry, Jin-kun, hurry now… Don't wanna miss it, do you…?_

"Right!" Jin said happily, his voice snatched up by that fierce wind, swirling and carrying it away.

Another bird, smaller than the others but stubbornly flying at full tilt, nearly went into his mouth, and Jin ducked to the side, twisting so he flew with his back facing the ground. The little bird did a slight spin but kept its straight course, only giving a slight squawk at the rudeness. Jin watched it go, then turned back to try and spot what they were flying away from.

The wind was dying down now, not so fierce, and he noticed the cool breeze drifting below him. It was strange, that was why he noticed it. Usually when he flew so high, the cooler air was above him because the warm ground let off nice breezes to drift up from below. He almost dropped a bit, to get a good whiff of that cool wind. But a glint caught his eyes, drawing his attention forward again.

Jin had never been to the mountains, but he'd looked at them quite a bit, the distant mystery of them drawing his eyes with a promise of fun. Now he found himself squinting at what appeared to be a little mountain, green at the base, and then the snowy tip. Only it was small and round and it definitely wasn't far enough away to be real. The hills separated them from the nearest mountain range by miles and miles – at least a few days the way he flew.

He dropped closer to the ground as he neared that snowy hill, his brows drawn close in confusion while his ears twitched in rising curiosity. The temperature was definitely colder the closer he got to both the hill and the ground itself. And once he was close enough to see the bright shine on that white surface, he got a mouthful of wind-carried snowflakes.

'_Snow! It's actually snow in the middle of springtime! And really cold snow, too…'_

Since he'd skipped school, Jin was still dressed in his loose uniform, the short sleeves not at all appropriate for the icy breeze that swept along him. Not that it was his fault. He hadn't exactly planned to spot a snowy hill in the middle of the fields. He rubbed his arms and drew to a slow stop, shivering as he hovered not too far from the edge of that white surface.

_Looks more like ice than snow, though…so shiny. And is that a-'_

"Oh wow," Jin breathed, his eyes filling his face.

There, just a few yards from him, one paw in the air as if it had merely paused midstep, was either a mangy wolf, or a really wild dog. It was frozen under what had to be inches of ice, like some bizarre statue. Jin didn't know what was more amazing, that it was a wolf, or that it was a wolf who must have been frozen the moment his paw touched the edge of the ice.

And it was definitely ice, he realized, as he hovered a bit closer to the glittering white sheet. He could see a very light mist rising over the surface – like the condensation on an icy cool glass in the summertime. Beneath that reflective surface was a vague green blur that might have been grass. A foot deep or he was a flying squirrel.

Suddenly Jin wondered if he should have paid more attention during his geology class. He'd heard talk about global warming, but nothing about bizarre random icy hills in the middle of spring. Not to mention the bright sun overhead – warm enough to make the tip of his ears twitch – and the speed those birds had taken off at – as if it had happened very quickly.

Never one to let a mystery go unsolved, or at least investigated, Jin zipped higher into the air. He paused for a glorious moment of just enjoying how much warmer it was up there, and the feel of the sun beaming down on his face. Then he glanced below.

He was reminded of the play Ino and Sakura had fought over a few months back. It had been some Western fairy tale, complete with a princess in a glass coffin, a handful of weirdos, and a prince dashing to rescue the princess from her sleep with a romantic kiss. Naturally Sasuke had been elected to play the part of the prince, however much he'd grouched and complained. So the girls had fought intensely to get the role of kissee. Jin could still remember the way they'd practiced on the lawn, laying on their backs and playing dead as though their bright blushing faces wouldn't give them away.

The still body beneath him didn't have that problem, the pale white face almost blended with the snow piled around it, a light dusting nearly covering the person's pale bluish clothing. The bright, glinting ice surround the slopes of the hill did fit with the glass coffin idea, and as much as Jin tried to grin at the parody of that romance, it seemed grotesque.

This wasn't a play, and it certainly wasn't a fairy tale. It was a dead body lying on an impossibly frozen hill.

His bright blue eyes dimmed and his face fell into an expression only two of his friends had seen. It was the same knowing acceptance, and deep discomfort he'd felt when he first arrived at the halfway house and had wanted nothing more than to run back home where he knew what would happen from one day to the next, where he'd be comfortable and things would be normal. Excitement was grand as long as he could feel normal inside. Staring down at that pale face, half buried in snow, he knew things couldn't be normal again.

He'd never seen a dead body before and he knew he'd be seeing it up close as soon as he got up his nerve to go look. He couldn't just leave it there, not if that dog-thing really was a wolf. The ice would melt before long, the way the sun was shining down on it. And the next wolf to come by wouldn't freeze like the first had.

He made a quiet sound of distress, his sharp ears instinctively ducking into his billowy red hair. Then he forced himself down to hover over the snow.

Again he found himself thinking of that tale, only this time it made his stomach twist and lurch toward his throat. White as snow and red as blood, that was how the little tale had started. And that pale face fit the description all the way to the dark red blood that had spilled over those parted lips to freeze against the snow that lay on his bare neck. It wasn't a girl, even with the snow he could see the person's figure – small and delicate but definitely flat. And so pretty…

Jin gulped, his eyes dark and narrow in an expression of severe discomfort. He'd have to touch him and all he could think was that if the frozen body broke into pieces he'd start sobbing and be sick all over the snow. He could almost imagine what it would look like and the image was enough to make that small sound rise in his throat again.

'_I can't do this, I can't, I can't! I don't want to, why did I have to find him? And why, why – why do I have to touch him?! He'll be cold and stiff and he'll break and…and…like the wolf. Yes, think of the wolf…like a statue, that's all. A pretty human statue, that's all. But it's not human, it just looks like that. Like a mannequin…! A cold mannequin. I can do that. Yes, yes, I think I can do that.'_

He stilled himself, his teeth closing tight over his lower lip. But when he reached a hand out toward that white face and felt the chilling cold rising off that bloodless skin, his resolve cracked.

'_Even if I can get him up, he's so cold - what if I can't carry him back to town? Maybe I should leave him here. I could hurry, if I went really, really fast, then... I'd still have to bring someone out to him, so they'd know where to go. And if anything chews on him while I'm gone, I'll never...'_

His stomach lurched again, and he stared miserably at the tiny mist of his warm breath over that cold air. He was going to be sick one way or another, he just knew he was. Better to be sick and get it over with, than to imagine what the pretty body would look like if a wolf did make it up that hill. He closed his eyes tight and reached down for those snow dusted shoulders.

The chill immediately bit into his hands, which turned out to be a rather nice distraction, all things considered. He opened his eyes again to see the snow melting as it made contact with his skin, and he almost lifted the body without making any more of those little noises. He really didn't like those noises - he hadn't cried since his parents had decided to send him away, and those sounds made him want to cry in pity for himself. He'd simply never been in a situation like this before, and nothing he could think of would let him get through it with his customary grin.

There was a strange, oddly interesting sound as he pulled the body up. Jin frowned at the half frozen grass beneath, wondering if frozen bodies always sounded like sticky tape being peeled free of a care package. But he didn't have time to wonder about it. The boy, possibly a teenager, was icy cold to the touch, and that pale blue clothing was stiff and numbing to his bare hands.

Only...the body itself didn't seem frozen the way he'd expected. The shoulders were dead weight, yes, but not stiff and breakable. He couldn't help the little sigh of relief that made it past his clenched teeth. His own shoulders loosened just a bit as he pulled the body up more, not quite wincing at the sound of ice breaking between the cloth and the frozen grass.

That pale head fell back, the snow dusting away to reveal pale blue hair and a few interesting strands of aqua near his face. And a strange sound made Jin's ears twitch free from his own hair, perking and listening intently. He pulled the body up further, into a seated position, and the sound repeated itself.

"Are-"

Jin swallowed, his eyes gleaming madly as he kept himself from doing anything rash like shaking the body or slapping him silly. "Are you alive in there? Are you?!"

He didn't get an answer, and he still couldn't see any sign of breathing - not the least bit of a mist over those open, bloodstained lips. But the moment he shifted those shoulders, that pale head rocking back, the sound came again. Being the semi-psychotic but rational person that he was, Jin dismissed the possibility of it being a coincidence. He ducked close so his ear was near that cold face, and gave him a light shake.

He immediately shifted his head so he was listening to the person's neck instead of his mouth. It had sounded like - as strange as the idea was to him - a clucking sound. Almost like a gag reflex, or swallowing sound, only hollow somehow. None of that made any sense to him, but he could swear he heard breaths when he pushed his half-numbed ears close to that icy skin.

'_Breathing, but icy cold. Maybe if his breath is cold, it wouldn't mist. Only...a person can't live if he's that cold, can he...? Cold inside and out? What was it...ninety something I think, the inside of a person is ninety degrees or more, eight maybe. If he's cold enough inside that his breath doesn't show, he can't be alive. But...'_

Jin moved his head back, rubbing a bit on his numbed ear to bring feeling back to it. Then he leveled a stare at that frozen, seemingly dead face.

"I'm going to consider you alive," Jin said seriously. "So play along with me, okay? If you are, then that probably hurts, so let's fix it."

With that, he tilted the boy's head forward, where he imagined it would be much easier to breathe if he were alive. And he continued the peeling until he could get those slender legs free from the grass beneath. His back was just starting to go numb from the snow behind him when his front quickly joined it.

He was cold! So cold Jin was sure he'd freeze halfway back to town and just plummet out of the sky like a great big icicle to shatter all over the ground. His teeth were already chattering by the time he straightened and that only took a few seconds.

"N-no time to w-waste, then," he blurted, forcing himself into a cheery grin.

He tilted his head back and flew straight up, as high as he could without hitting the light clouds that dotted the sky. The air was so much warmer that he turned as he flew, letting his back face the ground in hopes that the sun would keep his arms from freezing around that cold body.

'_Cold and small, and he sure doesn't weigh much for an icy fellow. I wonder if I can get higher up without hitting those clouds. I really don't want to be wet - then I really would freeze. Wow, is he ever cold... But he really is soft and...and flexible, I guess. Doesn't so sound good to think it like that. But he's not hard at all, I mean... Egh, I'm a pervert...! But, well, a frozen body would be hard, or at least stiff - like that wolf. So maybe he really is alive. Sure he is...sure. He could be. I did hear something...though I could have just broken something in him when his head fell back like that... No! Egh....don't think that... Jeeze...now I'm creeping myself out again...'_

As he'd expected, his arms grew numb after only a few minutes of flying, and Jin was glad to be supporting that cold body on his stomach. Then again, his stomach was getting pretty cold as well. Even if it were a dead, frozen body, he thought it would have warmed at least a little. The sun was being very cooperative, beating down on them like that. And that strong breeze he'd gone out to ride in earlier was as quick as ever, almost carrying them on a heated tide.

"Warm up already," said Jin, a pained grin pulling at his face. "Would you? Didn't I ask you to play along?"

'_I'm a sick person, joking at a time like this...a really sick person. But I'm doing the right thing! I am. I just don't want to think that I'm carrying a dead body back, a dead cold body that's gonna fall if he doesn't get at least a little warmer. My arms hurt...'_

He shifted his grip and waggled his free arm furiously, tingles and cramps shooting all down it. "K'so! Gaah...!"

'_I'll start cussing up a storm that would make even Shishi blush, if I'm not careful. I've picked up a lot of words from Suzuki...I guess now's as good time as any to try them out.'_

"Shimata! Yeow...! It stings, stupid bugger-loving catnip!"

'_All right, so I've picked up more words from Iruka than Suzuki...'_

"Eh, they sure do hurt when they wake up again," Jin said companionably, not minding the absolute lack of response from the body. "But it's nice to feel my fingers again - even if it won't last long. I bet you can't feel your fingers at all, can you."

He gave a sad little smile down at that pale face, noting how pretty it was with the sun glittering off it like that.

'_Glittering? Why's he glittering...?'_

He curved his free arm up so his newly-woken fingers could brush that shiny face. And he stared in complete confusion at his damp fingertips. The body was still cold to the touch, maybe not as cold as it had been but since his chest was about numb, he couldn't tell. Either way, that pale face was literally beaded with sweat, shining like he'd been rained on.

'_But he's cold! Why's he sweating when he's so cold...? And...is it just me or is he getting a sunburn...?"_

Jin's expression fell into an oddly amused etch of confusion as he moved his arm so it shadowed that damp face. "I think you really are alive. And it's no wonder you're so pale if you get burned from just a few minutes - the sun's good for you, you know. You should get out more, maybe a little tan. Though...it would probably clash with your hair, come to think of it..."

There was no response, but he hadn't expected one. Now that he was convinced the impossibly cold boy really was alive, he had an urge to turn around and fly willy-nilly back to town. If he'd thought his arms would have remained awake enough for it, he'd have done just that.

"But, sweating or not, you're still awfully cold. I'll have to stay as close to the sun as I can and hope we get back before it sets or we'll really be in trouble. Don't worry, though." He peaked under his arm at that shiny, flushed face. "I won't let you get sunburned. Just...defrosting you a little. You _are_ like a human popsicle, you know."

_- - -  
__TBC_

_**-notes-  
**'Gleam, Yami ni Hikari – Light in the Darkness'_ is Touya's theme song. If you consider Jin and Touya's partnership in the anime, it's clear who Touya's light is, the only one he knows who can shine no matter what the circumstances.


	2. Ice Blue, Just Breathe

**Author's Notes:** To _Cui Sune_, thanks for the feedback! About Touya's current condition - he hasn't mastered his ice talents in this fic yet. Mutants in the gmen universe – this AU world – usually get their talents at puberty and have to learn them from there. Touya is 16 at the oldest, possibly younger, and hasn't had the chance to learn about his talent (this will come up soon). The reason he's so cold and weak against heat is because he's sort of on self-destruct mode. ;p He's struggling to freeze himself to death (inherently difficult with his immunity to ice) and the sun is countering that. It's not the sort of thing that will last throughout the fic - like Hiei isn't hot to the touch unless he's using his fire.

The Naruto characters are really woven into Jin's 'homelife' background, so they're already established. They'll be playing more of a role as the fic progresses - starting in the next part. But again, note the pairings. I'm a big ShinoxShikamaru fan, so they'll get as much 'screentime' as NaruSasu.

Prequel to Gmen (KxH starts at part 21 of Gmen, and JxT at part 34)

**Summary:** When Jin rescues a lone Ice Master from uncertain death, he's eager to teach him about the simple pleasures in life. Touya warms to the treatment, but knows his past will catch up to him if he dares to settle down for too long.

_Fanart:_ I've been doing quite a bit of JinxTouya fanart, it's available on my fanart page:  
**www . geocities . com / arigatomina / fanworks . html**

_Category:_ Anime, Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, Alternate Universe (AU), Yaoi, light school-fic genre  
_Warnings:_ angst, reference to violence, shonen ai, will have lemon content (off-site for ffnet readers)  
_Pairings:_ JinxTouya main; assumed ShinoxShikamaru, SuzukixShishi, KakashixIruka; references to ReishoxTouya; and light Neiji-Lee, Naruto-Sasuke, Sakura-Ino (canon rivalry, dash of shoujo ai)  
_Author:_ Arigatomina  
_Email:_ arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com  
_Website:_ www . geocities . com / arigatomina

**Gleam**

_Part 2: Ice Blue; Just Breathe_

It must have happened gradually because Jin didn't feel any sudden change. He was a good twenty minutes from town when he noticed that his chest and stomach were no longer cold. He'd been suffering an odd bout of headiness from flying on his back for so long and hadn't exactly been watching the body. It hadn't moved since he'd picked it up, so he had no reason to watch it.

He glanced down now, surprised that his chest didn't prickle with that _'frozen flesh waking up again'_ sensation. A peak at the shadowed face he'd been keeping his arm over revealed a stark change. He almost faltered for a second, only his instinct keeping him in motion.

That pale face wasn't white anymore, and it wasn't sunburned, as he'd thought earlier. It was flushed, ruddy highlights striking out on his cheeks like he'd been slapped across both sides of his face. And he was moving for the first time since Jin had spotted him on that hill. His mouth was open and shifting, a faint imitation of a fish out of water struggling to breathe.

Jin felt a sharp burst of fear and excitement. Finally he had absolute proof that the boy was alive. He could feel warm breaths through his cool shirt, so he knew the body wasn't frozen inside anymore, if it had ever been. But the way he was gasping…

He brushed his hand over the boy's forehead, feeling the cool sweat that had turned that frozen pale blue hair into little damp ringlets. If he hadn't known better, Jin would have thought the body had gone from frozen to burning up inside. He had the same feel Ino had when she'd gotten the flu a few months back – cold sweat but flushed and burning at the same time.

Since he didn't have to worry about his arms going numb, Jin did a turn in the air. He could fly much quicker head-on than he could backwards, and he had a horrible idea that the boy was melting. It was ridiculous, but the idea danced around his worried head anyway.

He flew like the proverbial Hell Bat, one arm over that damp head to keep the wind from stealing his breath. He could actually hear him now and it sent panicky little shivers over his arms. He sounded like he was suffocating, and all Jin could think was to get him to the halfway house because Iruka-sensei was good at healing sickness.

That was when the boy choked on him. He felt those loose shoulders tense under his arm, that damp head ducking down. Then the boy coughed and something warm and wet seeped through his shirt.

Jin's first thought, in a distressed little murmur of protest, was that the boy had thrown up on him. As much as he wanted to just be happy the guy was alive, his face twisted in distress. He grimaced and glanced down under his arm to where the boy had hidden his face. The stranger made an odd little hiccuping gasp and coughed again.

He was coughing up blood, choking on it till it spilled over onto their clothes.

'_Why?! What's wrong with him…? Did I – did I really…break something…? He was frozen and now he's not so it's liquid and – and he's choking on it…! I was just trying to help, I didn't mean to-'_

A stuttering tremble started in the boy's shoulders, and Jin hurriedly shifted him up so he was in an almost seated position, his shoulders and head slumped over Jin's arm. He could _feel_ the blood.

'_But he won't choke on it… Isn't that what they do? Face down so he won't choke on it…? I have to hurry. Even if it hurts him a little, that's better than bleeding to death, right? Wouldn't it be? But he's not just sick, something's broken inside…Because I moved him? I shook him…'_

"Sorry," Jin whispered, not daring to look down at the shivering, coughing boy. "I'm really sorry, but…I have to get you to the hospital. I'll try to cushion you…"

'_But it won't make any difference if something's already broken. Time. It's just time now, and I can cut through time.'_

Tornadoes were known to have impossible winds, powerful, furious, and very, very fast. They could tear through a house and drop it miles away in a matter of seconds. But the eye was calm and protected, barely feeling the speed it was traveling at because the winds around it blocked out the turbulence.

That was the quickest way Jin knew how to travel. He just hoped he wouldn't shake the boy badly enough to break anything else when he started the twister around them. And he was vaguely grateful that the hospital sat on the outskirts of town. He could take them right up to it without having to tear a swath through the buildings on his way there.

Jin might have been a cheerful joker, but he knew how dangerous his twisters were. The only saving grace was that it took all of his concentration to control the miniature whirlwind he'd created. He didn't have time to hate himself for whatever he'd broken to make the boy cough up so much blood.

- - -

Jin stumbled on the front steps of the safehouse, his mind replaying the random words over and over and trying to make sense of them. The nurses had taken the boy from him without asking anything and had ordered him home. They knew him on sight. They'd call him afterward. They wanted Kakashi to come in with him afterward. Afterward.

'_Internal bleeding. That's what they said… hemorrhaging, that's the same thing as bleeding... Punctured lung. But I didn't squeeze him, I know I didn't... Broken ribs. But that wasn't me…! I shook him, that's all, just a little shake to see what that sound was. I shouldn't have done that, but it wasn't hard enough to break ribs – you have to push or punch or really squeeze hard to break a rib. So…'_

The man in the odd uniform – emergency uniform, head of the little team of doctors who'd rushed the boy off – had looked at him before they left. It was a suspicious, shocked look.

'_Did he think it was my fault? Maybe I did make it worse, but I didn't mean to…'_

His gaze fell to stare at his stained uniform.

'_I have his blood all over me. What else was he supposed to think?'_

He was standing with one hand on the doorknob, so he reeled a bit when it was jerked open. Wide blue eyes flew up to stare at him from a very white face. And a hand grabbed his arm and jerked him inside. He was immediately swamped by two staring, horrified, and curious girls.

"Is that really blood?" asked Ino.

She was standing back a bit, tugging on her long tail of pale blonde hair as she chewed her lip. The look on her face was a mix of disbelief and rising distaste – she'd sooner chew her ponytail off than admit to being disgusted by the sight.

"Are you okay?" Sakura demanded, scowling a bit as she circled Jin with appraising eyes. "This isn't yours, right? What did you _do_? Some woman called from the hospital and said you brought in a-"

"You're in so much trouble," Ino interrupted, her hands falling to her hips. "Iruka-sensei's been out of his mind worried about you and when the hospital called he nearly had a breakdown. Kakashi had to step on his head to knock him out of it."

Sakura tossed her head, her long pink hair flipping over one shoulder as she turned distasteful eyes on Ino.

"He didn't _have_ to," she sniffed, "I think he wanted to."

She sent a look up at Jin and shook her head when the boy raised a wary eyebrow at her. "He thought it was funny until he found out you'd nearly killed someone. I can't believe you'd do something like that – maybe Gaara, but not you!"

"I didn't!" Jin blurted, his eyes wide. "I found him, but he was already hurt. I was bringing him back when he unthawed and started coughing and stuff, so I took him to the hospital, but I didn't do it. I did shake him a little at first, when I thought he was dead, but I don't think that's what-"

"Girls," another voice called, "I'd like to talk to Jin now. And thank you for letting me know he made it back."

Sakura had the grace to blush a little when she turned to face the tall man who'd spoken. Kakashi was usually a flippant and playfully annoying caretaker of the lot of them. But times like this, it was hard to tell he had a face beneath his blue cloth mask, his expression was so blank.

One eye caught on Jin's wary gaze, the other hidden by Kakashi's sloping headband. "Come along, then. And don't drag your feet. If they're that heavy you can float."

"Hai," Jin mumbled, ducking his head when he saw eyes peering at him from the common room.

Kakashi led the way back to his office, where he'd left a somewhat jibbering mush once named Iruka to wait for him. He raised his visible eyebrow when he found one of the teens leaning casually in the hall.

They'd all be told to wait until their elders knew what happened before they started butting their curious little noses into it. The girls couldn't be blamed since Sakura was a natural worrier, and Ino just had to play rival worrier – even if she wasn't that fond of Jin personally Oh, Ino didn't dislike him at all, she just hadn't liked him that much since the incident in the bushes.

That was the way the girls were. Shino was different.

"And what do you think you're doing?" asked Kakashi, his tone lightly amused.

Shino glanced over the top of his dark round sunglasses, which he almost never took off. His hair was thick and black, standing in a straight upward cut similar to Kakashi's style, but not nearly so loose. He had the appearance of either a punk or a weirdo, which he encouraged with his typical high-collar trenchcoat.

"I'm providing moral support," said Shino, his voice a calm monotone. "I'd hear whatever was said whether I'm in the room or not. I might as well be there in person."

Kakashi smirked, the expression visible through his tight cloth mask. "Or you can sit with the others and keep your spying little bugs out of my office. Iruka's nervous enough without twitching at the creepy-crawlies."

"No he's not," Shino countered. "He's got his ear scrunched to the door listening to every word we say. Now he's blushing and grumbling about itchy little insubordinate things that could be crawling up his pants leg. He's also-"

"All right," Kakashi interrupted, rolling his visible eye. "Get your little friends out of there before he starts a striptease looking for them. You can give the delinquent moral support."

Jin's eyes welled up and he gave a helpless pout, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm not a delinquent!"

"Sure you're not," Kakashi drawled. "You've just be accused of skipping school so you could mutilate some kid. And going by the blood on you, you really look the part. If I didn't know how squeamish you are, I might actually believe you'd done it."

The man opened the office door and crossed over to push a fitful Iruka into one of the chairs. Jin scowled a little as he followed, Shino shutting the door behind them. Iruka made one disgruntled but not quite angry look at Shino before turning wide, bright brown eyes on Jin.

"Tell me you didn't," said Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei!" Jin protested, hurt widening his eyes. "You know I wouldn't. You don't really think I'd do something like that, do you?"

"I don't know what to think," Iruka said sadly. "They said you'd – you…is that blood?!"

"It's not his," said Kakashi. "You got the call, remember? Now, then. Spill it, Jin. If that boy dies you're going to find yourself repeating it all to an officer, so tell me everything you know."

Jin gulped in more than a little fear. He didn't think he'd be blamed, but telling an officer that he'd found a frozen body in the hills? And that he'd unthawed it only to find it drowning in blood…? That wasn't a very likely story, even to him and he'd lived it.

He started from the beginning, not even bothering to lie about skipping class. And through it all, Iruka was the only one to make a sound. Kakashi just watched him with that blank face he used when he didn't want them to know if he were angry or amused.

Beside him, Shino was a silent pair of eyes that didn't judge or question. Jin ended up sitting closer to him by the time he was finished, only his guilty conscience keeping him from ruffing a hand over his friend's hair in thanks for that quiet companionship. It was nice to have someone on his side.

"So that's it," said Jin. "They told me to come back here and that they'd call afterward. And I'm supposed to bring you with me when I go back," he told Kakashi.

Iruka stared for a few minutes, his face a tortured mix of happiness, sympathy, and worry. Then he broke and swept Jin into a tight hug, mumbling about sweet boys who got themselves into trouble for the best reasons and how could he ever have doubted him when Jin was one of the sweetest most kindhearted boys he'd ever met and oh how he hoped Jin forgave him for even thinking such things.

Jin sweatdropped a little, a slow grin tugging at his lips as he patted his hands on his sensei's back.

"Hai-hai," he said quickly. "Forgiven, forgotten, and I did skip class you know. Can't let me off that easily, right?"

"Well, just this once," Iruka sighed, giving a weak frown at Kakashi's amused expression. "You did save a boy's life, after all."

"Maybe," said Kakashi. "We don't know that yet."

Jin lost his smile, his shoulders slumping down. "You don't think he'll make it?"

"I don't know about that," Kakashi admitted. "What I meant was we don't know if you saved his life. From what you told us, the boy either _is_ a mutant, or was attacked by a mutant. I'd wager it's the former."

"You think he's a mutant?" asked Jin, his eyes wide. "Really?"

Kakashi gave a sage nod, his eyes glinting at the boy. "If he's a mutant with the ability to create ice and snow like you saw, then he may have frozen himself to keep his injuries from killing him. You did say he didn't choke until you…thawed him out."

"Then it really _was_ my fault!" Jin cried, his face stricken. "He could have been healing himself and there I went trying to help and I ended up actually hurting-"

"Easy there," Kakashi drawled. "You might have sped things up by keeping close to the sun, but he would have 'thawed' eventually either way. If you'd left him there, you wouldn't have been able to get help back to him in time. No, you were impetuous, but you did the right thing."

It took a minute before Jin would let himself believe it. Then he slumped again, a very tired smile spreading over his face. "I thought I was doing the right thing. It was really hard, though – cold, you know? I really thought I was going to drop him a few times when my arms went numb. Come to think of it, my chest sort of burns, too…"

He ducked his head, pulling his stained shirt back so he could peer into it. He abruptly reeled back with a horrified expression. "I'm freezer-burnt! Iruka-sensei!"

With a somewhat embarrassed, but highly amused and fond smile, Iruka moved over to see the problem. He wasn't a strict healer, but he did have a way with simple problems like illness or rashes – freezerburnt for Jin, meant a reddish reaction to the prolonged cold. It only took a bit of concentration to heal that minor injury.

"Now go upstairs and change into something clean," said Iruka. "Bring the clothes back with you, though. You might need them later, just in case."

- - -

Touya knew where he was long before he opened his eyes. It was the beeping off to the side, the one that quickened when his heart went faster. And he could feel the tight pressure on his chest and arm. It would have been déjà vu if he hadn't felt feverish on top of everything else.

'_Here again. How can I be here again…? Why is it so hot when my hands feel so cold? Cold. That shouldn't bother me… I felt it numb me, it didn't hurt. Why does it hurt again…?'_

Silence surrounded him, broken only by that now-quick beeping machine. No doctors nearby, at least none he could hear. He gave a tentative movement, checking his situation.

'_They did it again. Exactly the same. Am I reliving it…? It was so hard, I don't want to do it again…' _

Despite his thoughts, he forced his eyes open, wincing at the bright white above him. His left arm was held straight and immobile, but his right arm shifted when he tried.

'_Heavy again. Why does it have to be so heavy? Will it take me an hour just to get off the bed? Again. I've already done this…!'_

He glared bitterly at the cord strapped to his arm. Just like the last time, he knew he couldn't remove it without sounding an alarm and bringing a rush of doctors to his side. And it was so very hard trying to move when he had to be careful not to pull that small cord free.

His neck was braced, an uncomfortable sensation, but it wasn't the thick cast they'd put on the last time. This one was more temporary, as if they'd only put it there for the time being. Like they were in a hurry?

He fumbled with the clasps, his cold fingers almost hurting from that light contact. But removing it was much easier than the cast had been – he'd been forced to wait and cut it off days later. The moment the brace was gone, he tilted his head to see his chest, ignoring the needling pain that movement caused in his neck.

They'd wrapped his ribs again – no more than the last time, just cloth bandages. And he couldn't help the bitter smirk that twisted his lips at the sight.

'_Do they really think that helps me? One hit and they'll crack again. If they want to protect me, they should have used a cast. An iron cast, maybe. Can't they take an X-ray and tell my ribs have been broken more times than I can count? And what do they do? They wrap cloth around my chest and send me back. Fools.'_

It wasn't until he turned to his left arm that he noticed the first real difference from his last hospital stay. They'd actually put on a leather brace. It was tight and warm and sturdy enough to hold his arm straight so the bone would mend. He blinked in surprise.

'_I'll keep that. It's better than the ridiculous cloth they used last time. This might actually help, assuming it doesn't slow me down...'_

No matter how confused he was to find himself back in a hospital, in almost the exact condition he'd been the last time, Touya had a brief heady rush of something similar to relief. He bit down on the sigh and berated himself for it.

_'I didn't want to die. I just didn't want to be here again. And look - just as I knew it would happen, I'm here again. What went wrong...? It was so isolated, the perfect place, the only place. I've never seen a more isolated place. And still I ended up here?'_

But there really wasn't time to think about it. His first attempt hadn't worked. He'd ended up in the hospital, yes, but his injuries weren't enough to keep him for more than a few days. And he'd known once he was sent back he wouldn't get a second chance at a simple death.

_'He isn't stupid, he must know I did it on purpose. He'll never lose control like that again. That was my way out and I failed. And here I am again, failed. It's some inevitable chain I just can't break free of. If I can't die free, I'll slit my throat...quick, efficient...I should have done it years ago. I wouldn't even need a knife if I can store my energy enough to make my own weapon. It would be messy, and...distasteful. I don't want to die like that, but I'm not going back.'_

He shot a nasty glare at the beeping heart monitor when it sounded faster, matching his own pulse.

_'It doesn't matter, anyway. I just need to get out of here. I'll do it right this time - I'm thinking clearer than I was before. Drugs for the pain, I'm sure. But it helps. I'll plan ahead and make sure the plane is going to a city large enough to disappear into. I won't let myself be isolated again with no way out but to die or be found. It's a good thing, then, that I'm here again. I used to know how to get around on my own, it'll come back again...or it should..._

_'I used to heal quickly on my own, too. I never got that back. Face it, just face it...I can't even remember what it felt like to not be exhausted. And what I did back there on that hill? It meant nothing. It was entirely useless. I wasted what little energy I had left and now the only thing I can count on is that I'm small enough to hide in most shadows. That's it, that's all. So stop whining about it and find a shadow.'_

His glare faded into a small, distant smile. And he lay still for a moment, just letting it sink in.

_'I hate my driving pride. And I love myself. Would that make me a hypocrite? Who said you had to hate yourself if you hate your life? Pride hurts me, drives me to suffer and survive, but I can trust it not to let go unless there's no other way. It's honest, never lying to me, not out of cruelty or kindness. If all I have is my pride, at least that's something to hold onto, something that's mine. And after all, isn't it fitting to love the thing you trust?'_

_'Ah...and how could I forget my mentally verbose nature? It's time to move.'_

He inched his head upwards, his legs sliding over the side of the bed closest to that tattling machine. And he discovered the second difference from his last hospital stay. The bandages around his chest darkened when he moved, a dull burning sensation the drugs had hidden from him. He froze in disbelief.

_'Cut me? They cut me open? Why...? My ribs, but they've been broken so many times and the doctors never...'_

Something about that numb, almost peaceful memory came back to him. When he'd created the snow and ice, namely the ice. There had been something then...a tug and then a tearing sensation. He'd felt it just before everything faded away. It hadn't mattered at the time.

_'Then it's my fault? My fault... I did this to myself?'_

A strange expression spread over his face, some faint sort of grimace around his eyes, a tight smile on his lips, and a flash of pale blue over his pupils.

_'I can't believe it...I've never hurt myself before... I've thought it, but I've never actually done it! And here I've done it without even meaning to...!'_

That expression tightened as he pushed up to sit on the edge of the bed, grimacing more with his eyes but not losing his wide smile. For a moment he sat staring down at that faint, blossoming pink spot on his bandaged chest. And then he made a sound he hadn't heard in years. It was a very quiet chuckle, but it was real.

"Mm! What a nice laugh you have!"

Touya's head snapped up and a number of things happened in rapid succession. The fast movement sent a shard of pain down his neck. He slipped off the edge of the bed, the cord ripping away from his arm and sending the machine into a high pitched 'bree' sound. The landing jarred both his splinted arm and his chest, harsh enough to make the pain known over whatever drugs he'd been given. And he curled his right arm over his chest with a whispered curse, hiding his face from the stranger.

"I'm sorry!" Jin blurted, hurrying over to crouch by the injured boy. "I was just surprised to see you finally woke up, and then I heard you laugh and - I didn't mean to startle you. The name's Jin, by the way. I'm the one who brought you in. You're a mutant, aren't you? The doctor said you did some sort of healing thing after the surgery, really wiped you out. That's why you slept for so long, you know. And it's great that you're awake, but you probably shouldn't be getting up like that. You've had a pretty bad cold."

"What...?"

Touya had turned after a moment of that rapid speech. Now he found himself staring wide-eyed at the happily chatting redhead, a little stunned at the impossibly friendly tone from someone he'd certainly never met before.

"Who are you...?" asked Touya.

"Jin! You wouldn't remember, but I've been visiting you since you came in. Well, not the first few days. They sort of thought I'd mutilated you at first, but I explained what happened and the doctors confirmed that your injuries were at least a week old before I even brought you in. I think I did sort of complicate them, but it was an honest accident, really it was! And wow, your voice is a lot deeper than I thought it'd be, considering you're so small and all. Not that I don't like it! It's really soft and smooth."

The blue-eyed redhead tilted his head to the side and flashed a wide, guileless smile. Touya let out a quick breath, blinking dazedly.

"Did...did you say I'd been here days?" Touya asked, his heart suddenly pounding in his ears.

_'Days...? I...I don't have any identification on me. Even if they know I'm a mutant, it'll take time for the...John Doe...? It'll take time before my description gets around. It would have to. I...the plane - I'm not even in the same country anymore! It would take at least a week, at least. I still have time, I still have-'_

"You were asleep for more like a week," Jin winced. "You really used a lot of energy on that hill, you know."

Touya reeled back, his mind caught on that direct contradiction to what he'd been thinking, what he'd been hoping. He stared with wide pale blue eyes that were filled with horrified suspicion.

The look startled Jin, who immediately ventured a glance behind him before accepting that it was directed at him. "What did I say...?"

"Are you...in my head?" Touya breathed, his right hand curling into a painful fist. "Reading my mind...?"

_'There are mutants with that talent! If he can read my mind he'd know everything...everything about me... They'd know my name, who to call, where to send me.'_

"No!"

That slight, pale and injured boy was actually quite strong when he got scared. Jin admitted as much when he found himself shoved so hard he fell back and knocked over the heart moniter. He scrambled back up just as the patient tried to beat a hasty dash out of the room.

"Woah!" Jin cried, grimacing at what he'd done and at the knowledge that Kakashi would kill him once he found out. "Hold up, would you?"

He caught the short boy around the waist and shoulders, doing his best to avoid his ribs and arm. The ice user certainly didn't act like someone who'd been in a deep, drained sleep for the last week. Jin ended up pulling them both over backwards, the struggling youth was simply too frantic to hold him still without hurting him.

"Easy," Jin murmured, his eyes wide and worried. "I'm sorry I scared you, really...! But you can't leave like that. You just woke up - you'll hurt yourself if you go tearing out of here like that. And it'll be all my fault for scaring you off. Though, I'm not sure what I did to scare you. Was it something I said...? Is it okay for me to let you go now? You won't try to run again, will you? If you wait, I bet the doctors would release you. They said you were healing well, aside from your energy loss, of course."

The redhead just kept talking and Touya found himself losing that instinctive panic. The stranger had caught him from behind and pulled them both onto the ground. But the hold on his shoulders wasn't painful any more than the boy's voice was dangerous.

_'He's so young, and he sounds so honest... Why is he here? He can't have read my mind or he'd never be touching me, even to keep me from running. Which means...? I have no idea.'_

Touya swallowed roughly, his eyes still wide and locked on the door. "They'd release me...?"

His voice was that same soft whisper he'd used before and this time it really caught his attention when he heard it.

_'I sound so old...! I've never...that isn't the way I sounded before, on the hill. But he's right. It really is soft and smooth - and deep. It's just the way I thought it might sound someday, if I had a someday. And it's only been a week since then...?'_

"Of course they'd release you," Jin was saying, a relieved smile spreading over his face.

The blue-haired boy was so petite he barely reached Jin's shoulders. But his hair was pretty to look down on, and soft. He knew how soft it was because he'd sat with Ino and Sakura when they'd brushed it for the sleeping boy during the last few days. It wasn't as cute as it had been all wet and curly, but it was very pretty.

Jin snapped his eyes away and grinned sheepishly as he let the boy go. "Yeah, they'd release you. You didn't do anything wrong. It's a hospital! Not a jail."

"And I can just walk away?" asked Touya, his eyes suspicious as he glanced warily back at the redhead.

"I guess," Jin shrugged. "They said you didn't have anything on you, no one for them to call. So unless you want to call your parents or something, I don't-"

"I don't have parents."

Jin blinked, a swift change flashing over his face as he went from curious to sober. "Oh. That's actually what we thought. You're an orphaned mutant. That's why you came here, isn't it?"

Although Touya had no idea what the boy meant, he was starting to get a hopeful knot in his stomach. He kept that from sounding in his voice. "And if that _is_ why I came here?"

"_If_ it is?" Jin repeated, his confusion clear on his face. "What do you mean, if? It is or it isn't, right? Did you hear about the halfway house? We've had a few mutants wander here because they heard about it. Sort of a '_home when you have no home'_ deal, ne? Unless you were just passing through..."

They had no idea who he was...and they didn't care. No one was even searching for parents or guardians because they assumed he had none. He was as unknown as he'd been on the hill. And that heart monitor had been flatline for who knew how long and not a single nurse had rushed in to check on him.

_'It really is...a paradise of annonymity. I don't believe it...'_

Touya turned to put more space between him and the redhead. He didn't bother to get up from the floor, just curling his legs a bit so he was balanced better.

"What was your name again?" he asked.

An almost pained look spread over Jin's face as he gave it for what he knew was the third time. He couldn't help the hurt little frown that curved his lips. "You must not like my name if you have so much trouble remembering it..."

Touya acknowledged that with a slight nod. "I'm sorry. I was...distracted."

"Oh, right," said Jin, grinning a bit and waving the comment away. "I knew that. You're just really lucid and all, so I have to remind myself you just woke up from a really long sleep. I'm Jin, and what's your name? Want to tell Jin your name?"

If he didn't know better, Touya might have thought the boy was teasing him, the way he repeated his name. He didn't give any response to that, keeping his tone polite at best. He was good at being polite and distant. "You don't need to repeat it, I won't forget your name again. I'm Touya."

Jin grinned and hopped to his feet, only to feel a little sheepish at how small the seated boy was to look down on. He reached out a hand, offering to help him up. "Nice to meet you, To-ya! Want a hand?"

"No, thank you," Touya said quietly, his eyes narrowing just a bit at the odd pronunciation of his name. "It's Touya, not To-ya."

"Okay," said Jin, "Touya. Now you try my name."

The teen was giving him one very cute grin. Touya almost leaned away from it. He simply didn't know what to make of the redhead. "Jin."

Touya leaned to his right and made his way carefully to his feet. He was suddenly mindful of his injuries - if the place were as safe as it sounded, he might actually be able to stay put and heal. At least until his energy was strong enough for him to move without feeling the cold. His fingertips still ached.

"I want to leave now," said Touya. "You said they'd release me."

"Now? Are you sure you're okay to-"

"I'm ready to leave," Touya nodded. "I'm fit enough for that."

Jin gave an uncertain look but didn't argue when the boy turned to the door. It wasn't until Touya reached the open doorway that he remembered himself. "Wait a second! You don't want to go out there like that. Here."

The redhead had shrugged off his jacket, offering it with another of those bright, seemingly honest smiles. Touya stared for a moment before accepting it - only because it was better than walking around with only blood-tinted bandages for a shirt.

"Thank you."

"It's pretty baggy on you," Jin noted cheerfully. "Really cute! Shikamaru's clothes would fit you better. I bet you'd look great in mesh..."

Touya raised an eyebrow, not sure if he felt confused or wary over the _'cute'_ comment. "Mesh?"

"You'll see when you meet him," said Jin. "School let out an hour ago, so he's probably at the house by now. I'll show you over after we check you out. Come on, the front desk's this way!"

Touya followed carefully, holding the baggy jacket closed over his bandages to conceal the pink tint - just in case - and watching the various strangers they passed. The people all seemed to be doctors and nurses, and orderlies, if the outfits said anything. He expected that. What he didn't understand was why none of those people did more than smirk when they walked by, or why their eyes were on Jin instead of him.

_'What kind of hospital is this...? Where did that plane take me - another planet?'_

The tall redhead fairly bounced down the hall, quicker than Touya felt comfortable walking. He let him go.

_'I'm going to heal this time and do it right. I don't know how long it will take for my energy to replenish itself, but I'm going to get it back. And then, I'm going to disappear and start over. I know I can start over and do it right this time. I won't be taken in by anyone. I don't need to. All I need is my strength back.'_

"Oi! Don't let me leave you behind like that!"

Touya jumped at the hand that had clapped down on his shoulder, reproach and suspicion shining in his eyes. Jin was oblivious as he steered the shorter boy down the hall.

"I guess I better let you go first," Jin said amiably. "Wouldn't want to lose you in the crowd, right? Er...if there was a crowd, I mean. This place doesn't get much action. But they're pretty good doctors - they really hopped to it when I brought you in."

"You brought me?" asked Touya, sending a frown over his shoulder at the boy. "How?"

"Carried you," said Jin. "Wasn't easy, either. You really have that frozen thing down. I didn't know you were an ice-using mutant back then, though. I know it's not too bright of me, but I really thought you were frozen by accident when I first saw you. Even thought you were dead for a while there."

That caught Touya's attention, and he pulled away from the hand pushing him along. He stepped aside and walked beside the boy instead. "Was I frozen, then? Really frozen?"

"Icy cold," Jin nodded. "You weren't frozen solid, not hard like ice, but you were cold all the way to your breath. It's kind of cool now that I think about it. But it wasn't much fun at the time. I was really worried I'd drop you. My arms kept getting numb and I had to flap them around to wake them back up. Then there was the frostbite. I thought it was freezerburnt at first, but Iruka-sensei says it was a light bit of frostbite. Weird, though, since I don't think frostbite is supposed to be red and rashy looking."

Touya blinked, taken back by the happy and endlessly revealing chatter. The boy didn't seem to care what sort of information he revealed. He was just talking away, saying whatever came into his mind. And for the life of him Touya had never heard anything like it.

"Did..did you say frostbite?" Touya managed, staring in confusion. "I froze and it gave you...frostbite?"

"Yep," Jin nodded. "I had to carry you on my chest, see, because I was flying on my back. That's my talent - wind. So I was flying with my arms facing the sun so they wouldn't freeze completely. It turns out that made you unthaw quicker than you probably should have. I'm really sorry about that. I didn't know you'd frozen yourself because you were bleeding inside!"

The redhead was giving him a very open and sad look, wide blue eyes shining down on him. Touya leaned away, uneasy to say the least. "You're sorry because I was frozen, or because I hurt myself?"

"Huh?"

Jin blinked for a moment, then tilted his head to the side. "I'm sorry I put you so close to the sun and made you unthaw. You were so icy the blood wasn't choking you till I unthawed you. I almost didn't get you here in time. I'm really sorry about that. But what do you mean you hurt yourself? Your ribs were broken and poking into your lungs - no way you could have done that to yourself. Come to think of that, what _did_ happen to you?"

"I...strained myself using my talent," said Touya. "It wasn't intentional."

"Yeah," Jin nodded, "that's what Kakashi said. He's the guy who runs the halfway house, Kakashi is. He said you must have burnt yourself out freezing the hill and yourself the way you did. Really dangerous of you. But I meant your ribs and arm. Did you fall or was it-"

"It doesn't matter," Touya said, his voice sharp and final. "They've been broken for a while. I don't heal like I used to, that's all."

Jin sent him an odd look, not sure what to make of that cold tone. He wasn't dense and he could hear the _'don't ask'_ tagged onto the boy's words. But it was disappointing. He'd looked forward to actually talking to the boy - assuming he ever got around to waking up. Now he didn't know if he'd offended him, or if Touya were naturally quiet.

"Okay," said Jin, his voice softer than it had been. "I won't ask about that anymore. Okay?"

There was a hopeful, almost innocent shine in Jin's bright blue eyes. Touya looked away with just a little nod. "Thank you."

"Sure...sure," Jin smiled. "You don't ask me about my parents and I won't ask you about your injuries. That way, neither of us has to feel uncomfortable and we can both be friends. I bet you're a really nice friend to have. You look like you are. I mean, you do look a little stuffy, no offense. But you also look like you're really sweet. You're the prettiest person I've ever seen! I really like how pale your eyes are. Did you know your pupils disappear when you laugh? I hope you laugh a lot, because it was really neat. My ears twitch when I laugh, but I guess that's just funny to see since people laugh when I do it. I have no idea why it's funny. It's like making fun of someone who smiles when he's happy! It's not just rude, it's stupid, too."

Jin paused for a moment, his smile widening when he caught sight of Touya's stunned expression. "And you're really cute when you blush, too! Kawai!"

That wasn't the sort of thing Touya could pass off with a polite 'thank you', nor did he want to come right out and ask that the boy not say things like that - he'd be admitting that it bothered him if he mentioned it. So he simply tore his eyes away and did his best to cool down his heated face.

"I'd like to see this halfway house," Touya said slowly, his eyes still averted. "Today, if possible."

"Ah!" Jin winced. "Sorry for blabbing on when you're being so patient. You're probably really tired, too, standing around after being asleep for so long. I promise, not another word till we get to the house. Unless the receptionist asks me something, of course. Then I'd have to answer her or she'd think I was being strange. Not that she doesn't already think that. You should have seen her eyes bug out when I brought you in here. Now that was funny."

"Ah," Touya breathed. He had nothing to say to that. The teen, Jin, seemed content to talk for the both of him. It was a little unnerving, but comfortable at the same time. He didn't have to say anything - Jin could easily fill in any silence before it became uncomfortable.

_'I just hope these mutants at this house are as easily distracted. I don't know how to talk to people, even if I wanted to...'_

_- - -  
TBC_


	3. Tea Rose, Step Softly

**Summary:** When Jin rescues a lone Ice Master from uncertain death, he's eager to teach him about the simple pleasures in life. Touya warms to the treatment, but knows his past will catch up to him if he dares to settle down for too long.

_Fanart:_ I've been doing quite a bit of JinxTouya fanart, it's available on my fanart page:  
**arigatoumina . deviantart . com**

_Category:_ Anime, Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, Alternate Universe (AU), Yaoi  
_**Warnings:**_ fluff and shonen ai, lots of dialogue  
_Pairings:_ JinxTouya  
_Author:_ Arigatomina  
_Email:_ arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com  
_Website:_ www . geocities . com / arigatomina

**Gleam**

_Part 3: Tea Rose; Step Softly_

The halfway house, or safehouse, as Kakashi dubbed it, was an alien environment to Touya. He hadn't attended a public school in at least five years, so he was surprised at how strange people his own age appeared to him. Some of it he disregarded as a result of throwing so many teenage mutants together in one house. The rest he chalked up to his own alienation from 'kids', mutant or otherwise. None of that explained the man who ran the house, who appeared to be a first generation mutant with the mind of a perverted fifteen year old. Touya almost turned on his heel and walked right out of the house when he caught sight of the graphic novel the man was reading.

His first impression was dismissed once the man set aside the questionable literature and started speaking. While Kakashi had an unnerving smile, visible through the dark blue cloth covering the lower half of his face, his manner was offhanded. He was quick to invite Touya to make a place in the house without prying into his past. What put Touya at ease was that the man didn't seem overly interested in his decision. If he'd pressured him to stay, or made the invitation out to be a favor granted to a vulnerable youth, Touya would have quit the place immediately. And the stipulations that went with staying were nothing too invasive.

He'd be required to enroll in the nearby school if he chose to stay for longer than a week, according to the law of the district that demanded all underage youths to be properly educated. Any amenities aside from food and basic necessities would be up to him, with a warning that theft was not an acceptable way to get spending money. There were more than enough chores around the house if a 'border' didn't want to get a part-time job. Violence or crimes against non-mutants outside the house were absolutely unacceptable, and any issues with fellow borders were to be brought to Iruka-sensei.

Touya met that man after his initial interview, which was another reason he didn't leave immediately. Iruka was as overly welcoming as Kakashi had been disinterested. He didn't run the house, but he took a vested interest in the well being of the borders, playing a 'mother hen' role to them. Touya knew this because Jin had warned him about it during the walk from the hospital to the house. He deflected the man's concerned prying into his physical health, and discouraged questions about his past by suggesting that it might be better if he didn't stay at the halfway house. Iruka immediately backed off from that line of questioning and did his best to put him at ease with reassurances that he was welcome to stay for as long as he liked.

After meeting a few of the other teenagers as they trickled into the house, Touya decided Jin wasn't as unusual as he'd first thought. The redhead was an extremely cheerful extrovert with such a simple way of speaking that he seemed to be half his apparent age. But he was also quite skilled at putting a person completely at ease – or so startled and bemused that he might as well have been at ease. Once Touya was introduced to the teenagers who were Jin's peers, he appreciated Jin's nature. The boy had a way of drawing eyes to him, despite Touya being the center of attention. That gave him a chance to take stock of the variety of mutants he'd be spending the following week with. He doubted he'd stay longer than that.

The first people Jin introduced him to, after the adults, were the girls. They were the only females in the house, which meant, as Jin was quick to warn him, that they were fierce rivals in their quest to snag the prettiest boyfriend they could. Jin was convinced that Touya would soon be the focus of their efforts. Touya wasn't particularly grateful for his vote of confidence.

Sakura, who appeared to be the defensive one of the pair, quickly took control of the introduction by fondly dismissing Jin as the playful joke of the house. She was a pretty girl with long and straight pink hair and vivid green eyes that helped to make up for her strikingly broad forehead. Her mutant talent was uncontrolled, and not something she enjoyed talking about. Ino cheerfully explained that Sakura could heal people if she was worked up enough, but that if the person she was worried about didn't have an injury, the results were unpleasant. It was safer if Sakura didn't touch anyone when she had one of her worry-attacks.

Ino was much more self-assured, introducing herself as a fifteen year old mutant with the unique ability to transfer her consciousness into another person and control them completely. Sakura was quick to point out the drawback – Ino's body was defenseless and unresponsive when she jumped bodies, and she couldn't control people with split personalities or 'blocked' minds. This comment launched the two girls into a heated bickering session. Touya edged away while they were distracted.

His first impression was that Ino, for all her pale good looks – very long blonde hair and wide eyes – was something of a harpy when riled. Her formerly confident and flirtatious expression had twisted into an ugly scowl, and her voice was painfully sharp. Touya found himself grateful for Jin's short attention span. The redhead caught his right arm and tugged him out of the hall and into the large living room.

If it hadn't been for Jin's grip on his wrist, Touya would have frozen in the doorway. He ground to a halt and Jin, who hadn't noticed, continued forward until Touya was forced to take a single stilted step into the crowded room. Jin turned then, blinking in surprise at Touya's blank expression. Whatever he'd planned to say was drowned out by the curious mutants who called out greetings from their places around the room, a few of the bolder ones coming over to crowd the pair just inside the doorway.

A short blonde boy with bright blue eyes had bound forward, grinning and talking loudly with Jin. Another teen, taller, with bushy brown hair and pale blue marks on his cheeks, launched into an argument over something the blonde had said and the two were suddenly growling back and forth at each other. A little embarrassed by the display, Jin tried to talk them down, but a blackhaired boy with a bowlcut and an unsightly green outfit got there first. He slipped between the arguing teens and pushed them apart with a blindingly white grin.

Now the others were edging forward, a few lecturing the ones who continued to growl insults back and forth. Jin appeared to be exasperated, his voice barely making it over the general chaos. And Touya found his wrist freed. He immediately stepped back into the relative shelter of the doorway, as if he feared the roof might cave in and bury the room. No one seemed to notice the moment he blended back into the shadows, his wide eyes wary and more than a little disturbed.

They were teenagers, mutants, all of them young, male, and hormone-ridden. Touya knew that. But the voices mixed and muddled till he could almost hear people placing their bets, jeers encouraging the two boys to tear each other apart. Suddenly the room was too bright, the crowd too close, and someone behind him dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder.

Touya whirled around and ducked beneath Iruka's arm. He straightened a few feet down the hall and continued toward the front door, not glancing back. If the man made any attempt to stop him or call him back, Touya didn't hear it. His ears were filled with a quiet buzzing sound that made everything else mere background noise.

The house was situated at the edge of town, a few blocks from the hospital, and bordering on a sparse forest. Touya vaguely remembered Jin having said something about the forest having been planted to provide privacy for the south side of the little city, where the residential area was. There was dense underbrush deeper in, the sort that would make a natural privacy screen. The idea of wading through it made Touya's head hurt. He paused beneath the trees facing the back of the house.

He wasn't planning to run. He just needed to get away for a while, maybe till the sun set. If the teens were enrolled in school, they'd have to sleep eventually. With this in mind, Touya scouted a suitable spot to wait them out. He couldn't climb well with one arm, but the trees bordering the yard were lush, heavy branches falling low enough even for someone of his height.

He slipped off the thin hospital slippers he'd been discharged in and put them in one of the pockets of his baggy coat. Then he caught a slender branch with his right hand and swung himself till his legs hooked over the limb. His chest burned a little as he pulled up to sit on the limb, but nothing like it would have a week ago. What surprised him was his sense of balance. He had trouble crouching without swaying and had to brace his right hand on the trunk of the tree. It made him wonder how long he'd gone without food. The thought of facing that crowd of loud mutants killed whatever appetite he might have had.

Touya straightened slowly and climbed to a higher perch, circling the tree till the house was at his back, the canopy hiding him in shadows. The heavy coat Jin had lent him was thick enough to pad his neck against the rough bark, letting him stretch out without fear of falling. It reminded him that he'd have to see about getting a change of clothing. His own blood-stained clothing hadn't been salvageable, and he didn't want to start carrying Jin's scent. The coat smelled heavily of the grassy fields he'd trekked through, as if the owner made it a habit to roll around in them. And having heard Jin talk, Touya didn't doubt the boy had done just that.

A while passed before Jin noticed his absence. Iruka, who'd gone to inform Kakashi first, told him a good hour after Touya walked out of the house. Jin was so startled and guilty, Iruka couldn't help but put a warm arm over the boy's drooping shoulders.

"He didn't promise to stay here," Iruka reminded Jin, his tone sympathetic. "And he could still come back. Kakashi doesn't think he went very far."

"I can't believe he just left," Jin mumbled, ducking his head to stare down at his feet. "I thought he was right behind me, so I was trying to get everyone to settle down a little before I introduced them. But then Neiji bumped into Shishi and he spilled that drink on his hair and I had to stop them before they killed each other because once those two start-"

"At least Gaara wasn't here," a chipper voice put in.

Iruka frowned down at Naruto, the blonde boy beaming cheekily up at him. "He's not in his room? I swear, if he's out stalking those boys again, I'll-"

Naruto laughed at the man's twitching eyebrow, and even Jin gave a faint smile.

"No, no," said Naruto. "He's still grounded from last time. He was out on the roof earlier. He's probably hanging upside down from the gutters or something. You know how he is when he's not allowed to fight."

Jin's ears perked up. He didn't know if he should be hopeful or worried, but he was bordering on hopeful. If Gaara was on the roof, he'd have seen which way Touya went. And since he'd promised Kakashi he wouldn't attack anyone for at least two more weeks, he probably hadn't done anything really awful to the little ice user. Gaara took being grounded pretty seriously. Besides that, he didn't set his targets on mutants unless they looked really strong.

He found the mutant on the roof, just like Naruto had claimed. Gaara, a small boy with sandy brown hair, pale skin, and coal-rimmed eyes from his habitual insomnia, was sitting crosslegged on the back of the roof, facing the woods with a bored expression. Jin floated up to hover in front of him, crossing his own legs in a bit of playful mimicry.

"Hey, there," Jin greeted. "You didn't happen to be watching the front of the house earlier, did you?"

Cat-shaped eyes narrowed and Gaara's mouth edged into a dark smirk. "Lose your mate?"

Jin pouted, the way he always did when faced with someone who didn't like him. "Don't be like that. You're still mad that I turned your sandstorm against you, but I told you – sand can't beat wind. It wasn't even a fair fight, so it's not like I really won."

The smirk shifted into a sneer. "He smells like you."

"Really?" Jin blinked in surprise and felt a faint blush rise to his cheeks. He quickly shook his head, reminding himself to focus. "Did you see where he went? Did you?"

"Yes," Gaara said smoothly, "but I have no interest in telling you."

Jin bristled in frustration, though he knew it was no use trying to argue with Gaara. The antisocial mutant never helped anyone unless it was so he could crush him in a fight later. "You're so-"

Gaara jerked a hand to the side, flicking his fingers out. A ladybug snicked down against the roof with a tiny skewer made of crystallized sand through its back.

Jin winced at the feedback that sudden death would cause to the person controlling the insect. He flew down to the ground, looking around expectantly. Sure enough, Shino was leaning against the side of the house, waiting for him.

"You didn't need to ask Gaara," said Shino. "He's wearing your coat. Kiba or I could have found him on scent alone."

"So _that's_ what he meant," Jin blurted, slapping a hand over his forehead. "Jeeze, I completely forgot about the coat. You know where he went, then?"

"He's right there," Shino pointed. "Gaara's been watching him since he came outside. You should warn him about that when he wakes up."

Jin's eyes snapped to the roof, and he glared at the amused look on Gaara's face. It was one thing to not be helpful, but if he caught the guy creeping Touya out, he'd _really_ beat him in a fight. He'd gone easy last time, since their abilities put Gaara at a big disadvantage. He wouldn't be so nice if he caught the sand wielder picking on his new friend.

He walked over to the tree Shino had pointed out. He would have flown, but he wasn't feeling quite like his usual chipper self. He'd had all sorts of ideas about what might happen when the ice user woke up. Having him take one look at the chaotic mutants before bolting from the house hadn't been one of them. He probably should have warned him, or just put off the introductions till Touya was feeling better.

It was just that he'd been looking forward to getting to know him since the first day he'd been allowed into his hospital room. Sakura and Ino had followed soon after out of curiosity, and stayed out of sympathy. But Jin had felt like he had a real place there, almost as if they were already friends and it was his right to be the first person the boy saw when he woke up.

Shikamaru had dismissed the sentiment, when Jin had explained why he felt compelled to spend so much time watching a perfect stranger sleep. According to him, the only connection they had was in Jin's mind. He fancied himself a hero and was waiting for the damsel to reward him with her undying gratitude and affection. And he really was a sweet but painfully naïve kid to be expecting that, because the boy wouldn't remember being saved, let alone who had done the saving. Even if he believed the effort Jin had put in to helping him, there was no reason to think he'd be more than passingly grateful. Jin was just setting himself up for a major disappointment.

Jin knew his friend was right. Shika was cynical, droll, and way too pessimistic, but he was also right. Knowing that hadn't changed the certainty he had that he'd found Touya for a reason. He didn't skip classes so often or fly so far that it was normal for him to notice if a person happened to get hurt in the middle of nowhere some twelve miles outside of town. He liked to joke about his natural good luck, but it wasn't natural for him to just so happen to be in the right place at just the right time. He joked about good luck with a smile and a wink because, in truth, his own luck tended toward bad.

It shouldn't be pure blind luck that he'd met Touya the way he had. And if it was luck, just random chance, then he didn't want to know. It was nicer to think they'd met because they were supposed to, because his instinct was right in believing they'd be great friends.

With that in mind, he just had to work a little harder to see his expectations realized. Touya wasn't the person he'd imagined from watching him sleep all pale, fragile, and lovely. He didn't seem overly eager to make friends, or even to rely on someone else. All that meant was Jin had his work cut out for him. Part of his optimistic nature was that he thoroughly enjoyed a challenge. He had a better chance of chewing off his eartips than of willingly giving up on someone he wanted to be friends with.

It didn't hurt that Touya was really pretty. If it took a while to win him over, that mean Jin had an excuse to look at him as often as possible until he caved. Either way, he won. Chalk another point up for looking on the bright side. Shika could learn a lot from his stubborn optimism.

Despite his renewed determination, Jin hesitated when he found Touya sleeping like a pretty little angel all stretched out on a shaded limb of the tree. Watching him with the hopes of becoming good friends was fine in theory, but he was in danger of developing a really big crush based on looks alone. Touya was just too pretty for his own good. Even the faint flush on his cheeks, which should have had Jin guiltily remembering that Touya wasn't well enough to be sleeping in a tree to escape the noise in the house, made him want to sneak up and kiss him while he had the chance. He'd never do it, of course, but the fact that he wanted to told him how bad he had it. It was actually funny, because he'd always figured he'd fall for a girl, as much as he liked pretty people.

Touya was resting with his wrapped arm draped over his stomach. His right arm was curled over a small leafy limb, pulling it down either for balance in case he woke quickly, or to block his right side. Jin floated up on the boy's left and hovered with his legs folded beneath him so he was seated comfortably in midair. Aside from enjoying he view, he wasn't sure what to do next.

He'd assumed Touya would eat with them and then go to his room early to rest. Touya would definitely be sharing a room with him, not just because he'd offered days earlier when Kakashi suggested the mutant might plan to stay at the house, but because he and Gaara were the only ones who really had rooms of their own and there was no way he'd let his new friend room with Gaara. The sand-user never slept. Jin just knew he'd spend every night smirking and staring and he wasn't about to let Touya be creeped out like that. He might have enjoyed watching the boy sleep, hut _he_ didn't make a hobby of thinking up new creative ways to torture people who annoyed or challenged him, so it was okay for him to do a little staring now and then.

Jin was deep in thought, his chin braced in one palm as he looked at Touya without actually seeing him. He didn't realize he'd zoned out until he noticed that his stare was being returned by pale blue eyes. He jolted back in surprise and grinned sheepishly at being caught.

"You're awake," he blurted, and grinned wider at having come up with such an intelligent greeting.

"You were staring at me," said Touya.

His gaze was steady and sober, but his tone made the statement sound like both a question and an accusation. He straightened slowly without taking his eyes off the floating redhead. He was secretly disturbed by his lack of reaction.

He'd woken to the sensation of being watched by someone well within his personal space. But even before he'd opened his eyes to see who it was, he hadn't felt threatened by the presence. It made him wonder if Jin really _had_ been visiting him in the hospital, often enough that he'd grown accustomed to the boy being so close. Or maybe his cold was muddling his senses and he was just too exhausted to react properly. He hoped it was the latter because he'd stopped believing in blind trust a long time ago.

"You shouldn't come close to me when I'm sleeping," Touya said slowly.

He was somewhat startled to realize Jin looked different than he had earlier. The boy's wild red hair was even thicker than before, but not long enough to hide the little horn protruding just above his bangs. And his ears were longer now, rising up into elvish points that twitched and hid in his hair when Jin noticed what he was looking at.

"I change a little when I use my talents," Jin admitted, with an embarrassed smile. "When I'm upset, happy, and excited, too. Happens all the time, really. But why shouldn't I come close when you sleep? Do you use your talents in your dreams? I do that a lot. It's kind of fun, actually. I never know if I'll wake up sleeping on the ceiling or floating upside down, or what. I usually have good dreams so I'm really quiet – I just float a little. I did have some nightmares right after I found you, when we didn't know if you'd make it or not. Those were bad. The first one I woke up scrunched under my bed and my back hurt all _day! _After that I ended up in the corner over the door. Weird place to hide, if you ask me, but a lot more comfortable. I shouldn't have even been able to _fit_ under the bed. _It's like this tall! _Crazy…"

Touya processed this with a disgruntled expression on his face. He'd been known to wake up in strange places after he'd left home. He'd hide in his dreams only to wake up and find that he'd done the same in reality. That was how he'd ended up in the ditch after getting caught at the airport – his instincts taking over when he was too tired to manage on his own. But it wasn't that he and Jin had that much in common that made him uneasy. He didn't like that he'd given the boy nightmares, bad enough that he'd instinctively hidden from them.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've put you through," said Touya.

Jin tilted his head in surprise and the tips of his ears twitched out of his hair as if he wasn't sure he'd heard that right. "Sorry…? Oh! No, Touya! No, no, you don't have to be _sorry_! It wasn't that much trouble. I just did what anyone would have done. Well, what anyone would have done if he _could_. I mean, I haven't actually met any other mutants who can fly. Aside from Shishi! But he only flies in his chibi form and it's way too small to carry anyone, so he doesn't really count. And the dreams weren't _that_ bad. They probably weren't even because of you, anyway, not really. I think it was mostly just the blood you coughed up. Heh, I'm, uh…a little queasy if I'm around a lot of blood. I've been like that since I found out I was a mutant, so it's not your fault. Kakashi thinks I'm repressing some traumatic memory or something, but the way I see it, if it's bad enough that I had to forget about it, I'm probably better off if I don't remember. So, yeah, mostly it's just my own stuff. You don't have anything to apologize for. It's not your fault I'm the one who found you, and I'm glad I did, anyway. If I hadn't, we might not have met!"

And he smiled so happily Touya found himself giving his own ghost of a smile in return. Jin imparted so much information, so quickly, that he simply couldn't keep up with it all. He was left feeling dazed and strangely amused. Hopefully it was due to the cold or fever or whatever it was that made his head feel fogged and tingly, like he'd been drugged past the point of entirely rational thought. He wasn't prepared to accept that he was starting to like the cheerful and shockingly open boy.

"Is it always so noisy here?" Touya asked, in an effort to divert his thoughts and give him time to wake up his heavy limbs. At this rate, he'd have to fall out of the tree or ask for assistance. He didn't care for either option.

"Noisy?" asked Jin. He gave a weak and bashful laugh, once again rubbing at the back of his neck. "Yeah, it's usually like that, though chaotic or happily insane might be the better thing to call it. We're allowed to be as loud as we want in the common room - that's what Iruka-sensei calls the livingroom, not sure why. If anyone's having trouble in school or has a noisy roommate and needs a quiet place to do homework, there's the study upstairs. Iruka-sensei spends most of his time grading papers up there, so you can usually count on it being quiet. If he has a headache, we're pretty quiet during dinner and breakfast, too.

"See, Iruka-sensei is really nice most of the time, but he's scary when he's mad. Like if one of us acts up in school or skips class and Iruka-sensei has to talk with the pricipal, he snaps the second he gets home. That always makes him mad because the town's good about letting mutants stay here as long as we don't cause trouble. He's always worried we'll have to go somewhere else and there's so many of us now that we'd all have to split up. Most of us try not to upset him about that, but it's hard, you know?

"Having to be good all day makes you want to let go when you get home. That's all it was, really. They argue because it's fun, like the competitions we have on the weekends. No one means anything by it, so it's not like actual fighting. Except for Gaara. You'll want to watch out for him. But he's grounded right now, so he won't do anything for a while. Everyone else is nice enough once you get to know them."

He gave a hopeful and earnest smile, taking a breath before floating a little closer. "I should have warned you before I tried to introduce you to everyone. I've been here a while now, so I forgot how crazy it seems at first. Plus, you seemed fine on the walk home, so I forgot you're tired from being sick so long. I should have thought about that, but I got distracted trying to get everyone settled so you wouldn't think we were all nuts. I didn't even notice when you left. I should have, but...I'm just not used to having someone to take care of.

"I'll get better, though, really! If you're tired, or it's too noisy, or anything, just let me know and I'll fix it. I promise! I really want you to be comfortable here. It's just that we're different, you know? You'll have to tell me if something bothers you because I'm not very good at picking up stuff like that. Especially if you sneak off when I'm not looking. I can't help if I don't know where you are, right? Some of the guys are good at tracking people, but that's not one of my strong points. I mean, I'm this close and I still don't know how Shino and Gaara smelled my coat all the way from the house. Though...that might be because it smells like me and I'm too used to it to notice. Does it smell funny to you, Touya?"

"Like grass and sunshine," Touya murmured.

Again he was dazed, unable to follow the boy's monologue and form a coherent response at the same time. And he knew there was a smile curving his lips for some reason he couldn't explain. Some of what Jin said interested him, like the way the town had accepted them and the competitions they had on the weekends, but other parts were disturbing, even insulting. Yet, he didn't feel angry at being considered someone Jin thought he had to take care of. He didn't even feel compelled to rebuff the boy's request that he tell him if he felt uncomfortable. The only response he had was helpless amusement. It wasn't that Jin was funny, though some of his theatrics did border on comical. Mostly it was that he was just so...transparent and earnest.

Listening to him was simply enjoyable. However determined Touya was to protect himself with jaded cynicism, he couldn't help but find the boy refreshing. He'd never met anyone who could be so open. And Jin did it so naturally he probably had no idea how vulnerable he was making himself. If anything, Touya found himself wanting to protect Jin from those who would jump at the chance to exploit that open nature of his.

Jin was blinking in surprise, a smile tugging the corner of his mouth. "Grass? Heh...that's a funny thing to smell like. Sunshine's neat, though. What does sunshine smell like? You can tell me, ne? I don't smell anything..."

Oblivious to personal boundaries, Jin leaned over so his nose was fairly buried in the coat collar, his cheek and hair pressing cooly against Touya's neck. Touya jumped in surprise and almost shoved him violently away. He would have, too, if he hadn't been mere inches from pitching right off the limb. Instead, he stiffened and carefully pushed him back. Jin didn't offer any resistence. He even looked surprised, which Touya took as proof that the gesture hadn't been an intentional invasion of his space so much as a side effect of Jin's open, and obviously tactile, nature.

"Don't do things like that," Touya said, surprising himself by how patient his tone was. "If I had fallen I would have injured myself further. You can have your coat back."

"No!" Jin said quickly. "Keep it, okay? At least till you have something of your own to wear. I wasn't trying to be like that. I didn't mean to make you mad, either. I just, well, I wasn't thinking. I...heh...I don't always think before I do stuff. I was curious so I was going to get a little sniff, but then you smelled really good so I didn't stop as soon as I should have. But I wouldn't have let you fall! I would definitely have caught you, Touya. There's no way I'd let you get hurt again, especially not because of me. You don't have to worry about that. I'm a little clumsy sometimes, but I'd never hurt my friends. Besides that, you..."

He trailed off, blinking slowly and staring at Touya's wide eyes. When he spoke again, it was in a much softer tone. "You're really pretty...Touya. You probably have someone who tells you that all the time. Pointless to even ask, I guess, but...can I kiss you?"

Touya's reaction wasn't quite what Jin had feared. He'd expected him to jolt back in surprise, since he should have found a smoother way to slip the question in. Those pale blue eyes were staring at him in disbelief. He'd expected that, too, because it really was bold and dumb of him to just ask something like that when there was no reason for Touya to be interested in him that way. But Touya's expression wasn't disgust or anger, or even fear. He'd gotten the impression Touya didn't like to be touched much, so he wouldn't have been surprised if his request made the boy wary. Touya wasn't any of that, though. As far as he could tell, Touya looked more shocked and confused than anything.

"That was a bad way to ask it, huh," Jin grinned weakly. "I've never been good at thinking up segways and I figured your response would be the same whether I worked up to it or just asked. It's been distracting me, see, since I first saw you sleeping here. So when you blushed just now it was either ask or go crazy wanting to. Only, now you're looking at me like you already think I'm crazy, so it might not have made a difference. And now I'm rambling so I won't hear your answer, which isn't exactly fair to you, so I'll just shut up and let you turn me down."

The embarrassed grin Jin flashed was so good-natured that Touya actually wanted to cheer him up so he wouldn't have to hide behind a smile. He hid that as best he could and leveled a calm, disapproving look on the redhead.

"You shouldn't be so forward with someone you know nothing about," said Touya. "Just because you like the way someone looks, that doesn't mean he's a good person inside, or that he won't use you for his own gain. I could be a murderer who plans to kill all of you while you sleep and you're asking if you can...kiss me. Do you have any idea how dangerously naive that is? You can't _do_ things like that."

"But you're not a murderer," Jin protested, his bright blue eyes shining confusion and his mouth pulled into a pouting frown. "I've never met anyone as kissable as you, either, so I've never asked anyone else. It's not like I go around wanting to kiss strangers, just because they're pretty. Of couse, I haven't seen anyone as pretty as you, but even if I did, I don't think I'd want to kiss them just because they're pretty. You're special. You're all alone and hiding, even though it's much easier to have at least one friend who'll share your secrets so they don't eat you up inside. Sure, I like how pretty you are - it's adorable that I can make you blush just by saying how good you smell. But that's not why I asked.

"I wanted to kiss you earlier, but I could hold back because you were sleeping and it was just as nice to watch and appreciate, like looking at a flower. I asked because you were blushing and smiling and _looking at me_. Do you know how much your eyes talk, Touya...? They're strong and wise, but lonely, too, sad and haunted and a lot of other things I can't put a word to. As pretty as you are when you're sleeping, your eyes make you _beautiful_..."

Jin leaned closer, one hand braced on the tree trunk, the other brushing aside the thick aqua strands of Touya's bangs. Touya felt his face flush even more, blushing just as Jin had claimed. That was funny to him, because prior to meeting Jin, he'd almost never blushed. He was blushing now, and holding his breath for a reason he couldn't determine. He hated being kissed, so it couldn't be anticipation. And despite how heated Jin's gaze had grown, he didn't see any part of the boy that wanted to hurt him. So if it wasn't fear, and it couldn't be anticipation, what was it?

"Can I?" Jin whispered, softly as if afraid he might startle him. "_Please...?_"

Touya didn't know how that one word made feel so guilty. Maybe it was because Jin had saved his life and he'd made no effort to repay him. He was only asking for a kiss, which was such a small thing. Anyone else would have done it without bothering to ask.

He looked away from those burning blue eyes and made a quiet sound of agreement. He knew the real reason that please had made him feel guilty. Jin said it as if he were someone untouchable and pure, as if being allowed to kiss him was a wonderful gift. And as badly as he felt about that, Touya had no intention of correcting him.

That hand eased past his temple, fingers threading through his hair before gently tilting his head back. He kept his eyes averted as Jin leaned toward him. Lips ghosted over his cheek and he closed his eyes, holding his breath again. A firm kiss was pressed to the corner of his mouth, warm and soft and fleeting. Then the hand disappeared from his hair and he felt the nearness fade. He opened his eyes to find Jin floating a few feet away.

He could see the disappointment in Jin's eyes before they quickly closed and hid behind a sad smile. Touya stared at him, at that smile. He didn't understand. He didn't understand why Jin had wanted to kiss him, and he certainly didn't understand why, after getting permission, he hadn't gone through with it.

"Why...?"

Jin smiled wider, his eyes still closed. "It's not the same if you won't look at me. I don't want it like that. I guess I really shouldn't have asked. But, you know...you could have said no if you didn't want me to. It's okay. You don't owe me anything, and I told you, right? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Touya shook his head, not sure what to say. For someone who claimed to be bad at reading people, Jin seemed to know exactly what he'd been thinking. And still, he felt bad for having disappointed him. He didn't like how wrong Jin looked with that fake, almost painful smile.

Jin stretched suddenly, his arms reaching out to grasp at the air around him as a little breeze fluffed his hair.

"Mm! Now that feels good. You must be sore, ne? Sleeping in a tree like that? It's not too safe, either, I mean, what if you'd fallen when you dozed off? The beds aren't that bad, and it's much quieter upstairs than it is in the common room. It's probably hard to believe, but it's true. Naruto, you know that loud little blonde kid? Well, he thinks the house was made that way, so that it's alwas quiet upstairs. I'd believe that, except the house was made before Kakashi turned it into a bording place, and the ceilings are way too normal-looking to block out that much noise. No, I think someone's doing it, some talent that blocks out noise. Kakashi denies it, but I bet it's him. He has all sorts of talents, some of them really weird. That's his skill - copying talents. I heard something went wrong one time and that's why he covers his face and his eye. But that's just a rumor.

"Whatever's behind it, the upstairs rooms stay really quiet. You should rest up there when you're tired. You can meet Shika and get some clothes, too. I bet you'll like him. He's really smart and quiet, and you're about the same size. He'll definitely have clothes that fit you. Not that I'm in a hurry to get my coat back! I just figure you'll be more comfortable with your own clothes, is all. Probably want to change those bandages, too. And food, since you've been living on that drip-machine thing at the hospital all week. Lots to do, really..."

Jin took a breath and smiled expectantly, wide-eyed and happy once more.

Touya shook his head in a cross between wonder and exasperation. The first thought that went through his mind during the following silence was that Jin must be a great swimmer. He did speak quickly, but not quickly enough to account for how rarely he breathed while speaking. And still, Touya found it calming to simply listen to him. Too much time had passed since someone talked to him. They'd talked at him, about and around him, but rarely to him. Even if he'd wanted it, no one he knew could hold a conversation that didn't involve scheming, gloating, or threatening. It really was no wonder he had such a hard time keeping up with someone as talkative as Jin.

"Touya...?" Jin asked worriedly. "Yo, To-ya...! You okay? If something's wrong, you gotta stop me when I go off like that. Everyone interrupts me, so it's okay for you, too. I get distracted and forget what I'm planning to say. You can't let me do that or I might not notice when something's wrong..."

"Nothing's wrong," Touya said quickly. "But don't call me To-ya, Jin."

"Oh, right," Jin grinned. He didn't mention that it was the only guaranteed way he knew of to make Touya respond to him. "You want to go in now? We have dinner in an hour, so you can nap or take a bath or something. Not that you have to eat with everyone. I can bring something up to you. You're still sick, so Iruka-sensei won't make a fuss. He'd probably even fix up something special for you if you want. I'd offer to, but I'm a really bad cook. I burn everything."

Touya sighed and bent his legs so he could lean on his knees. He didn't feel any better than the last time he'd thought about getting back to the ground, and he was beginning to suspect he wouldn't be feeling better for a while. He definitely wouldn't be climbing any more trees until he was sure he'd be able to get down again.

"You carried me to the hospital," Touya said reluctantly. "Can you help me down? My balance is shot..."

"Yeah," Jin grinned. "I mean, sure I can help! I'm not as fast as some of the guys, but I'm pretty strong. Not that it takes much to carry you. I know pretty people like to be little, petite, I guess, but you're way too skinny, Touya. Even before they put you on that machine, you didn't weight anything. It's not healthy, you know."

Being lectured by Jin was disconcerting. Touya scowled. "It wasn't intentional. I've been...traveling. There wasn't time to worry about meals. I'd never starve myself for a reason as shallow as appearances."

"Easy," Jin said quickly, surprised as well as happy at the vehement reaction. "I was just worried, is all. But this is good. Between me and Iruka-sensei, we'll have you fattened up in no time. Well, not _too_ fat. I mean, unless that's what you want. I'm sure you'll be pretty no matter how much you weigh! I wasn't trying to say-"

"It's fine," interrupted Touya. "I know what you meant."

"That's good," sighed Jin. "I'm always sticking my foot in my mouth. But not literally, because my mouth isn't _that_ big. Plus, there's something wrong about putting bodyparts bigger than a finger in your mouth, at least when they're your own. I mean - I...oh. Wow. I can't believe I just said that..."

Jin's face flushed as red as his hair, and Touya choked back a laugh. He didn't want to embarrass him further, but Jin's horrified expression was adorable. Open mouth, insert foot. Touya didn't say it out loud, but that was the first thing that came to mind. The second was that he shouldn't be laughing at Jin's expense.

"I'm sorry for laughing," said Touya, with a smirk that wasn't the least bit sorry.

Jin grinned back at him. "No, you're not. And I'm glad you're not. Heh, if all I've gotta do to make you laugh is act like an idiot, then that's fine by me. Give me your hand, Touya. I'll get you out of this tree. And this time I'll introduce you to my _quiet_ friends. One at a time, I promise. Well, maybe two, but only because they're roommates."

Touya reached out and let Jin maneuver him so he was seated sideways on the limb. After a brief moment of vertigo, he decided not to complain about being carried like a child. It didn't hurt that Jin blushed when he looked up at him. So long as neither of them were particularly comfortable, it was okay.

"You know," said Jin, a little louder than necessary, "I keep a window open in the upstairs hallway so I can slip out easier. I'll take you that way and we won't have to go past the livingroom. How's that?"

"Fine," said Touya. "But who's that?'

There was a little boy sitting on the roof. When they neared the house, he turned to look at them. He had the most expressionless face Touya had ever seen. Considering the people he'd met in the last few years, it was shocking to see that in someone so young. Touya glanced up and blinked at the glower Jin was directing at the strange boy.

"That's Gaara," sighed Jin. "He was watching you earlier when you came outside. I don't know why. He isn't interested in anyone unless it's someone he wants to fight. Why would he want to fight you? You're already injured and you're definitely not a troublemaker. That's weird, even for him..."

"Does he pick fights a lot?" Touya asked quietly. He had the feeling that blank-faced boy could see right through him.

"That's all he does," said Jin. "He's not happy unless he's nearly killing someone. I don't think he can help it, though. He's got problems. Just don't wander off alone when he's bored, and you'll be fine. He doesn't like me, but we already had a match, so he won't start anything around me. He's not big on rematches."

Touya nodded and tore his eyes away from that knowing stare. Jin didn't need to warn him not to go off alone with the boy. He knewwhere he'd seen that look before, and why he found it so disturbing. However weak and unthreatening he appeared to Jin, Gaara could see through that because they came from the same place. The only difference was that he'd run from it, while Gaara seemed to have accepted and even embraced it.

Touya leaned into him and Jin automatically pulled him closer. He didn't know why Gaara was so interested in Touya, but he didn't blame Touya for being creeped out by it. He felt sorry for Gaara, for whatever had happened to make him the way he was. Despite that, the boy was dangerous and the last person he wanted Touya thinking about. At this rate, he'd leave as soon as his injuries healed.

"Don't worry about it," said Jin. "He's grounded, anyway. No fights for two weeks. It's fine."

Touya made a quiet sound, but didn't respond. He was halfway to dozing off. Jin smiled and eased over to lean against the wall, close enough to the window to go in if Touya snapped out of it, but out of sight of the roof and anyone inside. He'd take him inside in a few minutes and get Iruka to check him over. For now, he thought it was probably nicer to rest against someone warm than in a tree, or even a lonely bed. It was certainly nicer for him.

-.-  
TBC


End file.
